Goals Soccer Centres boss quits to lead British Olympic Association

The boss of five-a-side football pitch business Goals Soccer Centres has announced his plan to leave the firm, two months after its shares were suspended over accounting errors worth roughly £12 million.

Chief executive Andy Anson is quitting the business after a year to become the new chief executive of British Olympic Association (BOA).

Mr Anson’s departure date has not been announced, but he has committed to remain on the company’s board for the next six months to assist in resolving its accounting issues.

Goals was suspended from London junior Aim market in March after it uncovered “substantial” VAT misdeclaration issues, which it said date back several years.

The final value of the error is still being established and the blunder may lead to a “material change in its overall financial position”, it said.

Goals, whose biggest shareholder is retail tycoon Mike Ashley, currently trades from 50 sites in the UK and US.

Despite the accounting problems, Goals sought to assure investors that recent trading had continued to be strong in the UK and US in its latest trading update.

Michael Bolingbroke, chairman of Goals, said: “Whilst Andy’s decision is disappointing, particularly at this challenging time for the company, the board respects Andy’s decision to take a role that is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him.

“We are very grateful for all that he has done for Goals and are pleased that he will continue to fully support the company to secure the best outcome in the discussions with our auditors and HMRC.”

Mr Anson is already a non-executive director of the BOA, having sat on its board since 2011.

His appointment follows the departure of current chief Bill Sweeney, who left organisation in February to become chief executive of the Rugby Football Union.

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